Explore the complex

Map of the complex

Explore the Basilica of Saint Francis by selecting an area of the complex.

Upper Basilica

Digitisation in progress

Lower Basilica

Digitisation in progress

Exterior

Digitisation complete

Giotto, Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis - Upper Basilica

Giotto’s cycle in the Upper Basilica tells the story of Francis with an unprecedented sense of narrative immediacy and naturalism.

Giotto and his workshop, Chapel of St Mary Magdalene - Lower Basilica

The Chapel of St Mary Magdalene preserves an important cycle of frescoes by Giotto and his workshop. Following its restoration in 2020, the original colours of the cycle can once again be fully appreciated.

In progress

Simone Martini, Chapel of St Martin - Lower Basilica

The Chapel of St Martin preserves a remarkable cycle of frescoes by Simone Martini devoted to the life of the saint. Commissioned by Cardinal Gentile Partino da Montefiore, the cycle was painted between 1313 and 1318.

In progress

Giottesque Masters, Chapel of St Nicholas - Lower Basilica

The Chapel of St Nicholas tells the story of the saint’s life and miracles through an important cycle of frescoes. The Stories of St Nicholas were painted around 1308-1310 by the Master of St Nicholas and the Expressionist Master of St Clare, both associated with the Giottesque school.

In progress

The photographs that saved the vaults

In 1997, a powerful earthquake caused sections of the Upper Basilica vaulting to collapse.

Shortly beforehand, Franco Cosimo Panini Editore carried out an extensive photographic campaign for the Mirabilia Italiae volume dedicated to the Basilica. Created to document the monument in meticulous detail, those photographs became an essential reference for reconstructing the damaged frescoes.

Giotto’s cities: real architecture and painted space

Francis’s stories unfold in real cities, where every building helps make the setting recognisable and the narrative clear.

Giotto’s religious architecture: sacred spaces and liturgical objects

Churches, altars and liturgical objects shape sacred space, grounding key moments and miracles in the life of Francis.

embroidery

Rich fabrics and draperies enrich the interiors, helping to create both intimate domestic settings and more sumptuous spaces.

Giotto’s trees: nature and narrative

Trees and landscape make the natural setting recognisable and help express the Franciscan vision of nature as part of the story.

Giotto’s gestures: hands and bodies that tell the story

Giotto creates a language of gesture: bodies act and react, revealing relationships, tensions and the meaning of each scene.

faces

Giotto gives emotion visible form, using faces, expressions and glances to reveal the relationships between the figures.